


Stars and Distractions: A Princess Problem

by cottoncandyastronaut



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Gen, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 08:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2805749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottoncandyastronaut/pseuds/cottoncandyastronaut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My assignment for Yuletide 2014. Cinder and Scarlett have a bonding moment while on the Rampion, a moment to reflect on both the pain of loss and the potential for a new beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars and Distractions: A Princess Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moogle62](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moogle62/gifts).



> Dear Moogle62,
> 
> Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! I hope this season brings you all the joy in the world and that 2015 makes everything come true for you. As you can see from the story below, I got assigned to write your yuletide story in the Lunar Chronicles category. I feel I need to give you a fair warning. This is my first piece of fanfiction, my first story and my first yuletide. However, I loved your yuletide letter and was pretty excited to try and think of something for you. I need to confess also that it’s been awhile since I last read the Lunar Chronicles.
> 
> By the time I got around to writing this story for you, you’re letter on tumblr was no longer available. I remembered that you loved found families, fairytale retellings with badass female characters and little details that add so much to world building. I wanted to make a story that was simple but made these strong female characters shine. I hope you enjoy it
> 
> Happy Holidays wherever you are in the world!

Stars and Distractions: A Princess Problem

Right foot.  
Left foot.  
Right foot.  
Left foot.

One in front of the other. Scarlett needed to distract herself. She knew that if she allowed herself to reflect for just one moment, it would all come crashing down: the grief of having lost her grandmother, the one constant in her life since childhood, the knowledge that she was so far away from comfortable Rieux, up in a spaceship that was circling the atmosphere, the realization that she was up in space with a criminal cyborg, a boy who was a secret operative to an evil queen and an annoyingly cocky pilot. All these things were too much for her psyche right now and so, she walked, constantly circling the perimeters of the ship hoping for something to distract her from the pain. Sometimes when the thoughts started to flow in, she pulled at the strings of her hoodie to match her footfall. Pull the right string all the way when her right foot hit the floor, pull the left string down all the way when the left foot hit the floor. Her distractions were temporary and she knew she would get a grip soon. What choice did she have?

Scarlett found herself at the front of the ship, with its windows looking out into the galaxy. Usually during her circular rotations she would take a quick glance and keep walking, but this time, something was different. There stood Cinder, staring straight ahead, not moving an inch, but completely focused on simply staring. Scarlett gazed at Cinder, happy for the distraction. Focusing on what the weird cyborg criminal could possibly have going on in her mind was turning into a temporary solution to what Scarlett felt was the madness within her own.

“You can come and sit with me you know, I won’t bite”. The sound of Cinder’s voice made Scarlett jump, but Cinder just continued to stare straight ahead, looking out upon the galaxies that the Rampion was currently making its way through. Scarlett reluctantly went and sat down next to Cinder. Before Scarlett could ask what Cinder was so fixated on, Cinder spoke, “I know what you’re going through. Trying to avoid giving into that feeling, the one that makes you wish the universe would swallow you up whole, because then all the feelings and all the pain would go away and you could just exist with the stars. You could be blissfully numb. You could forget that others are counting on you; you could forget those you’ve lost and could just exist amongst the galaxies, floating away. That’s why I stare out at the stars so much. However, it doesn’t have the desired effect.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Scarlett.

“When I look out at everything, the earth below us, the stars all around us, the galaxies and planets, even Luna, all I can think about is my sister Peony. Is she dancing amongst these stars? Or did she just fade away? Does her story even matter, or do we all just die for nothing and become apart of the vastness?”

Scarlett thought over Cinder’s words and as they sunk in, Scarlett’s pity for Cinder and the loss she was feeling quickly turned to anger. “How can you say that? My grandmother didn’t just die for nothing. She died for a cause. She died for you. She knew that you were the hope to a better world for Luna and Earth. How can you say the lives that have been lost don’t matter?”

Cinder regarded her for several moments in silence before sighing, “How do you know anything is going to change? How do we know I can really overthrow Levana? How do we know that any of this is worth anything? All of us on this ship could die at any moment all because of me and some stupid dream of a revolution people had years ago, and who thought I was worth saving. People who decided it was ok to orchestrate my fate.”

Both girls were quiet after their outbursts, each letting the other’s words sink in. Both contemplating those they had lost to the never-ending swirl of memories and of the road ahead of them with could force them to face even more loss. Suddenly Cinder spoke, “She’ll keep hunting me, I have no choice but to fight, maybe one day soon I’ll get to join Peony and dance in these stars with her but for now all I can do is fight for my life and hopefully make the lives of others just that much more bearable. Hopefully, I can do some good. For her. I’m sorry you got brought into this chaos, Scarlett.”

Scarlett stared Cinder straight in the eyes and replied, “I’m not. If my grandmother felt that this was a cause worth losing her life over, then I need to enter the woods and fight. For her”. Cinder smiled at her and Scarlett returned the gesture. They both stared out at the universe together, feeling a little less alone in the world and a little less frightened of the journey ahead for although nothing had been said, they knew that they had each other and that was enough, at least for now. 

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Scarlett remarked, “So tell me, how is it that you resist the urge to punch Thorne in the face, because let me tell you I have been on this ship for only a few days, and you seem to have that skill down pat”. Cinder laughed. “You get use to him, and if he really annoys me I usually just start talking about how the lady figure on the side of the ship is a sexist symbol that I’m going to paint over the minute we land. He gets so hurt that I think something on his precious ship isn’t perfect, he just stares at me with his mouth open and slowly walks away from me.” Scarlett throws her head back and laughs, her red hair falling behind her and her freckles gleaming off the overhead light of the ship. 

Suddenly Iko’s voice booms out of the speakers of the ships, “Sorry to interrupt this cute little bonding moment, even thought I would like to point out that I was never invited to said moment, but Cinder I need you to take a look at something down in the engine room, hopefully it’s nothing serious but this new body is weird for me and I need to make sure all parts are equipped for the journey ahead.” Cinder smiled and said, “Sorry Iko, I’ll come down to take a look”. Cinder stood up and made her way towards the door, just before pushing it open, she looked back at Scarlett, whose eyes we’re glued on the universe, and asked “Hey, you gonna be okay?” Scarlett replied, “Not right now, but I’ll survive. We both will”.

Later that night, Cinder noticed that she didn’t hear the sound of feet walking along the Rampion.

The end.


End file.
